Community mourns loss of child after apparent murder-suicide

Riley Nicole Tippett, 11, was a student at Orchard Park Elementary in Westminster

This home in Westminster was the scene of a triple shooting late Saturday that left an 11-year-old girl and her adoptive father dead. Oconee County authorities said a 911 call around 9 p.m. Saturday from the father, William Brian Tippett, suggests it was a murder-suicide. His wife, Kathy Tippett, survived gunshot wounds and is being treated at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

Two brothers rode their bikes. Neighbors stood talking in their yards. At the end of the road, a trail leads to a fishing pier on Hartwell Lake.

There was no yellow tape distinguishing the tan double-wide mobile home at No. 444 on the corner with Forest Way. A mix of vacationers and permanent residents live at Foxwood Hills, the community where the trailer sits.

Until Saturday night, neighbors on either side of the home knew little about the Tippett family.

After two 911 calls, Oconee County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the home just after 9 p.m. to find 11-year-old Riley Nicole Dyar Tippett shot to death in her bedroom, Coroner Karl Addis said in a news release. The man who had adopted her, 34-year-old William Brian Tippett, lay dead in the living room.

Riley's mother, Kathy Tippett, 29, lay suffering from gunshot wounds a few feet from him. Paramedics treated her at the scene, and she was flown to Greenville Memorial Hospital where she remained in serious condition late Sunday, according to hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dees.

The coroner described it as an incident "consistent with murder-suicide."

Riley's stepfather, who went by Brian, dropped her off at school every morning, Whitmire said..

"He had been daddy to her as long as she knew," the principal said.

According to a predawn statement Sunday from Addis, who could not be reached for further comment later Sunday, a man called 911 at 9:03 p.m. and said he shot his family.

"A second 911 call was received at 9:08 p.m. from a female reporting she and her daughter had been shot and her husband had shot himself," the coroner's statement said.

Autopsies are scheduled for Monday. Authorities said they found a handgun at the scene.

The shades were drawn at the Tippett house on Sunday afternoon. The only sound was the rustle of trees. A silver Honda Civic and red Honda Accord sat parked in the driveway with a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Security officers patrolled the streets slowly. They, like many neighbors, said they knew nothing about the Tippett family.

Reached by phone, Whitmire said she held the door open for Riley at school each morning. She described the rising fifth grader as outgoing and gorgeous. The lanky, brown-haired girl often brought her beauty pageant pictures to school to show friends, Whitmire said.

"Riley was a very precious child, the most gregarious wonderful child," Whitmire said.

Tippett adopted Riley last year, Whitmire said. A photo of her wearing a beauty-queen crown is posted on her parents' Facebook pages.

Riley's mother, Kathy Dyar Tippett, is a medical assistant at Blue Ridge Orthopedic in Seneca, Whitmire said, and she had served as the Parent Teacher Organization president at her daughter's school for at least four years.

"She's a sweet lady who is a go-getter but in a quiet manner," Whitmire said.

Whitmire said there were no clues that anything was wrong in the Tippett family.

"It's such a shock to everyone at school," Whitmire said.

By Sunday afternoon, tribute and support pages for Riley and her mother had been posted on Facebook with more than 100 people joining and offering condolences. Funeral arrangements were not yet available late Sunday.

The Tippetts' neighbors said the family seemed friendly enough; one man whose children played with Riley declined to comment.

Tony Tinsley lived next to the Tippetts at the end of the road. His log cabin is a vacation home, and he said he never met the family.

"I lived in L.A. for 12 years," Tinsley said. "This is nothing new to me. This is something that happens everywhere. We're lucky still that it's far less here than in other places."

Tony Vaughn has lived on Dorion Drive, around the corner from Odessa, for two years. He stood in his living room Sunday, a gold cross hanging around his neck.

"This is highly unusual," he said. "It's frightening for our society period. What frame of mind do you have to be in to walk in your house and open fire on your family?"

He said he's sorry he never made an effort to befriend Brian Tippett and his family. They always waved to each other as they passed each other on the road.

"We didn't know them at all," Vaughn said. "As a Christian, I should have known my neighbors better."